Cable bending pliers



March 9; 1948. E, P, MC NAI 2,437,433

CABLE BENDING PLIERS Filed April 12/1946,

Arrows/15y:

Patented Mar. 9, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,437,433 7 CABLEBENDING PLIERS Eric P. McNairyMattoon, 111.

Application April 12, 1946, SeriaI'No. 661,580

This invention relates to an improved bending and cutting tool andespecially to a tool for bending and cutting flexible articles such ascables, wires and the electrical conduit commonly referred to as BX.

It is an object of this invention to provide a simplified tool foraccomplishing the bending and cutting of such things as BX and the like.

It is also an object of this'invention to provide an economical toolwhich is easy to make and easy to use.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a tool for thebending and cutting of BX with means for first bending the BX leavingexposed a section of the flexible metal wrapping around the BX and withcutting means for then shipping the exposed section and finally withadditional flat cutting means for trimming the rough edges or cuttingthrough the wires running through the BX conduit.

The tool of this invention is much simpler and easier to use than anytool on the market used for a similar purpose. All those presently onthe market are complicated in structure and involve complicated meansfor simultaneously cutting and bending the flexible cable and if the twomeans are not properly adjusted, the combined bending and cuttingoperation will not readily" occur.

All the tools presently on the market are supposed to bend the cable andcut the cable in one operation. This has proved unsatisfactory becausethe tool is hard to keep adjusted and because the present tools tend toflatten and smash adjacent sections of the cable which are not cut.Furthermore, such tools weigh several times as much as my tool and aretoo heavy to be readily carried around by the electrician. The presenttool is light in weight, can be readily carried around by the workmanand overcomes the objectionable features of the tools of the prior art.

The general type of my tool is the pivoted cross lever type which isplaced in closed position preparatory to bending the cable and placed inopen position preparatory to cutting.

1 Claim. (Cl. 81--15) Other advantages and objects of my invention willbecome apparent by referring to the drawings in which Figure 1 is aperspective view of the tool, Figure 2 shows the closed position of thetool for inserting a BX cable preparatory to bending book shoulderportion and a bearing portion. The bearing portion or end is fastened tothe lever arm I by means of the nut 4. The opposite end of the pivotalmeans is in the form of the book 5 which is larger than the pivotalportion 3 thus providing a shoulder which bears against the shoulder llof the lever arm 2. A similar hook 6 is provided and the hook 6 isfixedly attached by welding or other means to the shoulder ll of arm 2at point I. The two hooks 5 and 6 are in parallel aligmnent when thetool is biased in closed position in order that a flexible cable, likethe ,BX cable 8, may be inserted in both of the hooks preparatory tobending or breaking 'as will be hereinafter described:

The jaws or cutting end of the tool are closed when the tool is inposition as shown in Figure 2. The jaws 9 and III are provided withstraight cutting edges l I and with curved cutting edges l2 such thatwhen the tool is closed the curved cutting edges l2 overlap as shown inFigure 2.-

The device works as follows for bending and cutting the flexible metalwrapping from the section of BX cable leaving exposed the wires l3 whichrun through the cable. The cable 8 is placed in the U-shaped hooks 5 and6 as shown in Figure 2. It should be noted that one arm or leg of thehooks, namely the arm which is attached to the levers, is longer thanthe other arm leaving a space between the shoulder l1 and the ends I4 ofthe hooks in order that the cable 8 may be inserted as shown in Figure2. The tool is shown in a position of Figure 2 preparatory for bendingthe cable and is in the normally biased closed position. In Figure 3 thetool has been opened practically to its maximum extent which bends thecable 8 in the form of a U thereby separating the flexible metallicwrapping l5 leaving an exposed section [6 which is not only exposed butis separate from the rest of the metallic wrapping although it is notyet severed or cut in two. After the cable is bent in the form shown inFigure 3, the tool is partially closed and then the cable 8 of Figure 3can be readily removed from the hooks. The tool can now be used as acutting instrument. It can be opened wide enough to take in the exposedsection [6 and the curved cutting edges 12, which come to points asshown in Figure 1, can be used to snip the section l6 and therefore aportion ofthe flexible cable 8 can be removed leaving the insulatedwires l3 exposed. The flat cutting edges H besides serving their normalfunction for cutting in a tool of this general kind, serve two specialfunctions in working with flexible cable like BX. The

aeszaee flat cutting edges II can be used to trim any jagged edges ofthe snipped portion l6. Further- I more, the wires l3 after a portion ofthe BX cable has been removed, may be cut by the flat portions I I.Therefore, I have provided a tool having a particular cutting pair ofjaws which provides a complete unitary tool for any work that has to bedone in regard to cutting and preparing BX cable for wiringinstallations.

The levers l and 2 which also serve as handles up to the pivotal pointor as a matter of fact up to the jaw portions of the cutting edges H and12 may be of any suitable material such as steel, iron and the like aslong as it provides sufiicient strength. It may be made by drop forging,casting and the like. The jaws 9 and II] are preferably of heat treatedsteel which is customarily used for providing good cutting edges. TheU-shaped hooks 5 and 6 can very Well be made of the same material as thelevers I and 2 or may be made of other suit-able metal which issufficiently strong for the purpose. The type of metal used in this toolis well known by experienced tool makers.

I claim as my invention:

In a tool of the pivoted, cross-lever type, pivotal means about whichthe levers pivot, said pivotal means fixedly attached to one lever andjournalled in the other lever to provide for pivoting, each of saidlevers having a shoulder adjacent the pivot point, a first U-shaped hookin which one side of the U is attached to said pivotal means and extendsoutwardly from the shoulder of the other lever, the other open side ofsaid hook extending inwardly toward the shoulder of said other lever,the other open side of said hook being shorter than the side attached tothe pivot thus providing a gap between the open side of the U-shaped'hook and the outer face of said other lever, a similar second hookattached to the outer face of the shoulder portion of said other lever

